Klobuchar Withdraws from Vice Presidential Consideration

Senator Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that she is withdrawing her name from consideration as Joe Biden’s running mate, saying a woman of color should be chosen as vice presidential nominee instead.

“I truly believe, as I actually told the vice president last night when I called him, that I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket, and there are so many incredibly qualified women.” Klobuchar said on MSNBC. “If you want to heal this nation right now – my party, yes, but our nation – this is sure a hell of a way to do it.”

Biden has promised to pick a woman of color as his vice presidential nominee and came under renewed pressure to pick a black woman as protests against racism and police brutality continue across the country in the wake of the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, ran against Biden in the Democratic primary but dropped out of the 2020 race in March, hours before Super Tuesday, and endorsed Biden. Her record as a former prosecutor with a reputation of being tough on crime in the Minnesota county that includes Minneapolis, where Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has hurt Klobuchar’s standing as a likely pick for the vice presidential spot.